The Unreality
by Strife21
Summary: AU::Living in New York City as a psychologist, Cloud Strife has been getting some odd dreams lately.  Something about him, a group of friends, and saving the world from an evil man.  Is Cloud going crazy, or is it something deeper than reality?  RR
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

:: The Unreality ::

Prologue………..

_Raging fire, an orange glow, and extreme heat seemed to surround him. He was a young man with blue eyes and, blond hair, and he was frightened. Beyond the fires and the dark smoke he noticed old fashioned buildings, and a large mansion that was conveniently right in front of his gaze. He couldn't hear a thing since the beginning, but as soon as his eyes fell to the sight of the enormous building he was deafened by a high-pitched ring._

_His hands urgently clasped over his ears, and as he noticed the ringing slowly subsiding, it was replaced by various human screams and destruction. Yet, as his eyes darted frantically for the sources, he could not see a single being around._

_Moving his eyes towards the grand structure in front of him, he felt suddenly beckoned to step forward through the fires. As if he was under a magical spell, he felt his right foot move involuntarily. _

_Just as he did the fires went out, the area fell dark, and a man stood in front of him._

_The young man's fear seemed to rise at the sight of him. He had not noticed such a man, who had long platinum hair and an evil smile, and the long sword which the man held in his hand sent chills up his spine._

"_Does it seem real to you?"_

_The man's voice made his image even more threatening, and the young man stepped back. As he did, he was surprised by a sharp pain and froze in his spot. Within seconds he knew what the pain was and his eyes unfocused slightly, noticing beforehand that the man was no longer in front of him. Before the darkness enveloped him he felt the pain subside seconds before it racked his body once again, this time he felt the sharp blade dive into his back and protrude through his rib-cage._

_He could not scream, nor understand what had happened. Only that the man with the silver hair and sword had somehow gotten behind him, that the man was indeed trying to kill him, and that he was slowly succumbing to his inevitable death. After a harsh twist of the blade, the young man opened his voiceless mouth and slumped over. The screams began to fade from his hearing, and the last thing he hears is the voice of the man._

"_It seems real, right Cloud?"_

---

Eyes forced themselves open, and Cloud darted up to sit.

It was the third time this week that he had the dream that woke him in the middle of the night with cold sweat and a pounding head. It was the twenty-first night he had dreams about him, an evil man with long white hair, and a group of people saving the world from the evil man's destruction.

Cloud rubbed his temples and sighed, trying to make the heavy thumping in his brain disappear. He thought to himself that he should at least be used to the nightmares of this unknown character in a burning village, and yet here he was again terrified from it as it strained his mind and quickened his heartbeat.

Lifting his shoulders up as he tried to relax the tense muscles along his neck, Cloud looked around his room, making sure he was back to the right world. His bachelor-like style, all bought from some pre-made bedroom set in Sears or Target, reassured him he was right where he's supposed to be. He stopped his eyes at the small window on his right, observing that it was another full-moon night as the murky white light dimly illuminated his room through it.

Cloud's mind was lost in thought. Why did these dreams play in his mind, and as if it wasn't enough that they were reoccurring, they played some sort of story of a young man, his group of friends, and a quest to destroy an evil man who wants to destroy the world.

It was all bizarre to him, seeing as most of the references to the places his dreams took him such as 'Costa Del Sol' and 'Midgar', had never crossed with him living in New York City, nevertheless anywhere else he's heard of or been to. The only familiars in these dreams seem to be some of the people involved with him as the protagonist of the story. So far, there were only four characters who traveled with him in the dreams; all of them seemed to reflect someone he recognized in real life.

Shooting a glance at the clock, Cloud decided to interrupt his thoughts for a later time. Tomorrow was Monday, and it was one of those days he didn't want to miss. He had a patient to see that he grew fond of.

She also played his character's best friend in the dreams.

---

He woke up only five minutes late from his alarm, and yet he felt the need to rush up from bed and into the shower.

Cloud dashed downstairs minutes later, a neck-tie limply hanging around the collar of his white shirt, and his hair still dripping wet.

He acknowledged his white feline friend, whom he named Kate, who stood on the kitchen windowsill staring lovingly at his small garden in the backyard. It was almost traditional that he let her out in the mornings to play with the butterflies that hovered shyly over the tomato plants. Quickly slipping a crack on the sliding-glass doors, Cloud let her out but not after giving her a small pet on the back and loving goodbye.

He locked his front door behind him, quickly messing with his already neat tie and ruffling his hair with a hand as he stepped out. It was only a ten minute walk to his office, and fortunately the day blessed him comfortable weather.

Just before the end of his block, he turned towards the large windows of the coffee shop. He spotted a light-haired woman with greenish blue eyes and waved to her as his eyes met her smile. The woman was beautiful, with fair skin, a kind smile, enchanting gaze, and to his luck only a year older than he. Cloud had known her for quite some time; sadly he only shared conversations with her when he went in the coffee shop.

On the other hand, in the odd dreams that went on in his mind at night, she was a frequent face. This woman was an ally of the protagonist; her name was Aeris in the story. In reality, Cloud did not know her name. He was never able to ask her during all those times he came in and got coffee, nor did he remember looking for a name tag whenever he was in front of her. He made a small mental note to clear that inquiry soon, although he knew his awkwardness toward beautiful women would cause him to place the thought in lowest priority. Cloud was exceptionally gifted with analyzing, theorizing, and listening, yet intimate interaction with women seem to surpass him.

He crossed the first stoplight into the next block, in fast pace, although for sure he wouldn't be late.

Arriving at a townhouse, in front of a door which read, 'Dr. Strife PhD. 3881 Brook Street, New York NY', he quickly went through the doors and found his secretary looking up at him disturbed.

"Sir? Something wrong?" the woman with round glasses, ponytail, and light auburn hair spoke carefully, "You look like you're late for something."

"Uh… no, no Shera, I just woke up a little late this morning that's all," Cloud picked up the morning paper that sat on top of his secretary's desk and scanned it uninterestingly, "Got any cancellations today?"

Cloud was hoping the woman would say no. He had only one appointment of the day, and it wasn't one he'd want cancelled.

The woman now recognized as Shera looked up towards the clock and noted that her boss was ten minutes early, but decided to not say a word about, "No sir, your first appointment will be here in about fifteen minutes. Mr. Valentine, the parole officer, called in this morning and said they'd be a little late."

In his mind, Cloud sighed in relief.

"That's fine. Just send them in when they get here, Shera, thank you," taking the paper with him, Cloud passed the small but cozy lobby of his office and through a glass door with his name etched onto it.

Inside was a more spacious room, about 4 times bigger than the lobby, with many windows and bookshelves, and two white couches that sat parallel from each other near the front French windows on his right. The room looked more fitting for a literary buff than a psychologist, but the warm and cozy feeling it gave certainly helped many of his patients relax during their time spent here.

Cloud walked to his left where his desk sat, and placed the newspaper on top. He sat on the leather chair behind it, pulled out a few filed folders, and a note pad and pen.

The sudden click of the door handle seemed to surprise him as a dark, long-haired man with piercing brown eyes came through the door.

"Good morning, Dr. Strife," the man spoke respectfully, and Cloud recognized the man as the parole officer.

Cloud took a quick glance at the grandfather clock before he got up from his seat and shook the man's hand, "Good morning, Mr. Valentine. I hear you were running a bit late, but it seems to me you're just on time."

The man in a dark navy tie-suit gave a small chuckle, "My mistake on the calculation, I thought I was going to be given another hard time." The man motioned to the woman who seemed to have magically appeared behind him.

Cloud glanced at her with a sincere smile, "I see, well thank you very much Mr. Valentine, for escorting her. I will see you in about two hours."

The man acknowledged his words and turned to leave, quickly telling the woman he passed to 'behave', before shutting the door behind him.

With just the two of them standing in the room, Cloud who was looking forward to the day, decided to break the silence.

"How's your day been so far, Tifa?"

The long-haired brunette crossed her arms and avoided eye-contact with him. She responded dully and with such careless attitude as to reflect what she was feeling.

"Let's see, I had to wake up early for this… So far, it sucks."

A/N: As all of you should know, FF7 characters and affiliations are owned by SquareEnix. Please don't sue me, I don't have money . Hope you enjoyed the prologue, and please review. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2: The Criminal and the Moron

The Unreality

Chapter 2: The Criminal and the Moron

This particular woman who came to his office today, for whatever reason she played his best friend inside the dreams. Even more peculiar was the fact that she appeared in the story way before he had even met her in real life.

She comes in every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday starting about two weeks ago. For some reason, Cloud had been looking forward to their visits. No matter how sour the woman was to him for the two hours they have together.

She was a patient of his who didn't like opening up, let alone give any interest with being his friend. This was an inconvenience to him because the woman was a rather stunning brunette with wine-colored eyes, who has a past and mindset that he was deeply interested in. Unfortunately she wasn't even a willing patient of his, only someone who happened to get the better end of a court sentence.

Today she came in wearing faux leather shorts, fishnet stockings, knee-high boots and a white t-shirt, looking very stoic and stone cold. Within the first five minutes she assumed her position on the white couch with her arms and legs crossed, and her eyes to the French windows on her left. Cloud has learned from his past sessions with her, knowing very well that the woman hasn't changed from sarcastic and distant. Nevertheless he aimed to try harder and harder each day.

"Tifa, will you try to speak to me today?"

Cloud admitted to himself that he was simply mesmerized with the woman. Not because she remained such a mystery to him, and that he couldn't analyze her even on his third week, but also because of her appearance in his dreams. How was she there before they had first met? Why was she the protagonist's sidekick, and oddly, possible love interest?

"Are you not getting paid for two hours of silence anymore?"

She still kept her eyes to the windows as she spoke, and like always she shared her sarcasm freely and redirected his question with another question.

Cloud was familiar with her game, but refused to let up, "Is it so bad to speak to someone? I'm sure you've got a few things to say about me, about the world, about anything…"

"I do have a lot to say, but I don't need to speak to anyone about them. I have a cat at home."

It was a subtle personal information, but the first he had every gotten from her. Delighted, and sincerely interested, Cloud pushed on the subject.

"What's your cat's name?"

The woman turned her head at him suddenly, a small coy smile playing across her lips, "Oh no, you're not going to get me to open up by using my cat."

Cloud enjoyed her smile, "No, I have a cat also. Her name is Kate, she's a white Siamese."

The woman eyed him skeptically. She seemed to be struggling with a thought. She sighed and hesitantly responded, "He's an orange tabby. His name is Sith, you know, after the Star Wars villain? He's my best friend."

Smiling back at her, Cloud was genuinely delighted to have her speak some sort of sincerity to him. It was as if he had broken through with his patient, although it clearly wasn't even close to the improvement the court order wanted. He watched as the woman across give a scoff to his reactions.

"Yeah, write that one down in that 'crazy people' notebook of yours," she looked at the pad of paper in Cloud's hands.

Scoffing himself, Cloud placed the pad at the end table beside him. He crossed his arms and paused at an idea, "Sometimes I bring my cat here when I have young patients. It really helps them relax, so they're more apt to talk."

"Are you implying that you're going to use your cat to make me talk more?"

"You think it would?"

"No."

The woman shot down the idea, keeping her stoic attitude intact. She rolled her eyes in disbelief, almost as if she was disappointed that Cloud had shared the information.

Frowning at this, Cloud immediately regretted to share the fact. He decided to tell her what he really intended.

"Please bring you cat tomorrow. I hate leaving my cat alone at home all day, and I'm sure it's the same for you. Whether you talk or not, I'd be happy to have you meet my cat, as well as meet your best friend."

The woman let out another scoff, but Cloud knew she would be more than happy to bring her pet tomorrow. After all, she didn't say she wouldn't and she wasn't giving him any type of physical response that would mean she won't.

"It's settled then," Cloud broke the silence, "And don't worry, Kate is a sweet cat. She seems to love everyone, no matter who, or what they are."

Avoiding his eyes, the woman responded quietly, "Great, I won't have to work hard to pet her."

This small quip sparked interest in Cloud.

"Because you're a criminal?"

"No, because I'm a bad human being."

"Why do you think you're a bad human being?"

The woman turned to him, and this time her eyes weren't cold and her expression wasn't stoic. Cloud's eyes seemed to focus in the new expression she shared, and it was that of pure sadness. As if right then and there, her world had collapsed in front of her eyes. Quickly as it had come, the woman turned away from him and back to the windows with her stoic expression emerging in her eyes.

"Why else am I here, you moron."

A/N: Thank you for the review, **Yuleen75**. This chapter is for your encouraging comment.


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